BREAKING NEWS: Well Blowout Reported at Pennsylvania Fracking Site

A natural gas well blowout at a hydraulic fracturing site in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, appears to have resulted in contamination of a nearby waterway. The accident occurred at a natural gas well operated by Chesapeake Energy in LeRoy Township near the town of Canton. The well was being fracked at the time of the blowout, according to various media reports.

Bradford County’s director of public safety told Pennsylvania’s WNEP that the natural gas well went out of control late Tuesday night. An equipment failure is being blamed for the blowout.

WNEP is also reporting that the natural gas well blowout released significant amounts of fracking fluid onto the surrounding land and into nearby Towanda Creek:

“the well blew near the surface, spilling thousands and thousands of gallons of frack fluid over containment walls, through fields, personal property and farms, even where cattle continue to graze.”

WBNG, based in Binghamton, New York reports that crews are working to minimize the impact on Towanda Creek, which flows in to the Susquehanna River nearby.

No injuries have been reported, but seven families living nearby have been evacuated.